Miss-K-Lee-2007
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- HSC
- 2007
I am wanting to use Magaret Atwoods poem 'Jorney to the Interior' as my text. However I am unsure of how this poem relates to the imaginative journey.
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Imaginative Journey: Journey to the interior (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Miss-K-Lee-2007
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69danny~Babe69
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yeah if anyone has anything i would love to use it
..::jonesy::..
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- Nov 6, 2006
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- HSC
- 2007
yes please if anyone has any notes on it they would help so much... This text is driving me crazy
I used this text for all of my essays, which I'm going to upload to the resources section soon. It's a really, really good text to work with, and isn't used much so gives your essays a little bit of individuality. Anyway, here are the basic notes that I made; look for my essays in the next few weeks for more sophisticated answers/integrated info.
Context
• Canadian background
• Poem belongs to a novel written about a character struggling to examine and understand their motivation and actions
Plot Outline
• A character moves through a physical or geographical manifestation of their mind – a psychological landscape.
• Attempts to chart the dark mystery that is the human mind.
Analysis
• The title suggests a journey from the exterior reality to the internal psyche. It is also indicative of an exploration of new territory (a geographical term). Often this journey was dangerous. The idea of journeying towards and opening up the interior of something and the attendant dangers echo through this poem.
• Setting is domestic; ‘your shoe among the brambles’, ‘lucent white mushrooms and a paring knife’, repetition of a monotonous sentence
• Conversational tone → there are evident philosophical musings, a clear persona, the poem is personal and possessive though not intrusive (it is a universal ‘I’), it is not an entirely imaginative work – speculative and inspired through reality
• Present tense is used to invite the responder to experience the journey vicariously. The author writes as she journeys, leads to a conversational, erratic and ‘train of thought’ structure
• Creative and academic language used
• The first stanza displays the similarities between the natural environment and the human mind. The second stanza portrays the differences between an interior journey and all others. The last stanza talks of the dangers of the journey; it is full of apprehension and self-reassurance.
• The persona is ultimately not in control of this journey, her mind is → ‘the hills open to let me through’, ‘a net of air’
Techniques
Technique
Sensory Imagery
Examples
Comparison/Juxtaposition
Examples
Tone /Atmosphere
Examples
Uneven/unbalanced stanza length and structure – typical of free verse.
"that a cliff is not known as rough except by hand": Appearances can be deceiving. An encounter cannot truly be experienced without physical connection or action and without true familiarity. This could perhaps be referring to her writing (eg. mention of hand) as an experience that she would not genuinely known if she had not become a practical writer.
"I move surrounded by a tangle of branches, a net of air and alternate light and dark": The persona feels restricted by her difficult terrain/surroundings (housewife, domesticity). They are surroundings that can have conflicting effects, either light or dark’. The kinaesthetic imagery of a ‘net of air’ suggests a difficulty in breathing, perhaps a difficulty in creative expression.
"your shoe among the brambles under the chair where it shouldn’t be; lucent white mushrooms and a paring knife on the kitchen table": This is used as a connection back to reality. The persona seems to be a domestic, her attention focusing on cooking and a shoe that ‘shouldn’t be’ under the chair. The reference to ‘your’ suggests she is directing her dialogue toward someone, a husband, child, relative, partner. These connections are also indicative of the meaning of the journey. They are perhaps used to focus her experience on feelings of domesticity, a reaction against it, comparative to it etc.
"a sentence crossing my path, sodden as a fallen log I’m sure I passed yesterday": This phrase can be seen as having either or both of two meanings. It may be seen as an expression of the monotony of domestic life (ie. a phrase that is repeated constantly at home → also direct towards ‘have I been walking in circles again’) or as an manifestation of her creative work. She feels her work is repeating itself and that it has become ‘sodden as a fallen log.’ These, including the shoe and mushrooms, are perhaps distractions from her self-discovery.
"have I been walking in circles again?": This line implies a sense of confusion, meaninglessness and repetitiveness. Her life has become monotonous and does not know whether she is reiterating words or actions passed. It may also mean she has explored this physical terrain before – she has visited this part of her mind, or her mind in general, before.
"A compass is useless; also trying to take directions from the movements of the sun, which are erratic; and words here are as pointless as calling in a vacant wilderness": These words are used as representations or symbols of direction. The uselessness of the compass implies that direction and help in dealing with her life seems to be nonexistent. The movements of the sun are realistically used to calculate time and bearing. It recalls a naturalistic tone, returning us once more to the wilderness of her mind. May also indicate a lack of time frame – she feels that this journey is endless, without chronological order. Calling does not seem to help her either. Vocalisation of distress appears ‘pointless’ as no one else is present. These lines imply a sense of isolation and remoteness. The persona feels alone, physically and linguistically. She feels her words are meaningless and that she cannot truly express herself through language (both in her writing and vocally). The phrase also invokes a sense of helplessness. The persona believes that words will not help her explore personal feelings, emotions and thoughts. She must physically navigate her mind alone.
"Whatever I do I must keep my head. I know it is easier for me to lose my way forever here, than in other landscapes": This recognition of danger is vital. The character ultimately warns the responder not to get lost within the landscape of your own mind. You, like the many historical geographical explorers, may get lost within the wilderness of a country, and never return. It is ironic she mentions she ‘must keep [her] head’ as it is, indeed, her head that she is exploring. The lines create a feeling of desperation and hopelessness, as if the loss of reality has already begun for her. The author suggests it is ‘easier for [her] to lose [her] way…here than in other landscapes’ as this land is completely uncharted. This land, unlike physical and geographical landscapes, will change. It is limitless, unpredictable and never ending.
"the hills...open as I move to let me through": The barriers of her mind are being lowered to let her explore → personification.
[I know it's long, but I hope it helps.]
Context
• Canadian background
• Poem belongs to a novel written about a character struggling to examine and understand their motivation and actions
Plot Outline
• A character moves through a physical or geographical manifestation of their mind – a psychological landscape.
• Attempts to chart the dark mystery that is the human mind.
Analysis
• The title suggests a journey from the exterior reality to the internal psyche. It is also indicative of an exploration of new territory (a geographical term). Often this journey was dangerous. The idea of journeying towards and opening up the interior of something and the attendant dangers echo through this poem.
• Setting is domestic; ‘your shoe among the brambles’, ‘lucent white mushrooms and a paring knife’, repetition of a monotonous sentence
• Conversational tone → there are evident philosophical musings, a clear persona, the poem is personal and possessive though not intrusive (it is a universal ‘I’), it is not an entirely imaginative work – speculative and inspired through reality
• Present tense is used to invite the responder to experience the journey vicariously. The author writes as she journeys, leads to a conversational, erratic and ‘train of thought’ structure
• Creative and academic language used
• The first stanza displays the similarities between the natural environment and the human mind. The second stanza portrays the differences between an interior journey and all others. The last stanza talks of the dangers of the journey; it is full of apprehension and self-reassurance.
• The persona is ultimately not in control of this journey, her mind is → ‘the hills open to let me through’, ‘a net of air’
Techniques
Technique
Sensory Imagery
Examples
- "welded together"
- "hills…endless as prairies"
- "trees grow spindly…their roots often in swamps"
- "is not known as rough except by hand"
- "a dotted line on a map"
- "tangle of branches"
- "light and dark, at all times"
- "your shoe among the brambles"
- "lucent white mushrooms and a paring knife"
- "a sentence crossing my path, sodden as a fallen log"
- "movements of the sun"
- "vacant wilderness"
- Suggest the exploration of the interior of a country – a physical journey. It is a poor country and is ultimately inaccessible.
- Intensify and heighten the experience for both author and responder. Fills out a particular landscape. Introduce ‘geographical exploration’ technique/concept. Imagery populates an imaginative journey and is used to portray a particular theme/tone/issue of the text.
- Imagery here is used to portray the remoteness ‘vacant wilderness’, danger ‘welded together’ and contradiction ‘a net of air and alternate light and dark’.
Comparison/Juxtaposition
Examples
- "There are similarities I notice…"
- "hills…welded together, open as I move"
- "a dotted line on a map, location plotted on a square surface"
- "alternate light and dark"
- "lack of reliable charts"
- "many have been here, but only some have returned safely"
- "compass is useless"
- "have I been walking in circles again?"
- "it is easier for me to lose my way forever here, than in other landscapes"
- "your shoe among the brambles under the chair where it shouldn’t be"
- "lucent white mushrooms and a paring knife on the kitchen table"
- "a sentence crossing my path, sodden as a fallen log I’m sure I passed yesterday"
- Contrast similarity and difference between travels on a map/physical. Highlight that we are journeying through a person’s psyche, a geographical manifestation of her mind/thought process.
- Also comparison of journey vs. domestic reality. An imaginative journey can take many forms. An extended physical metaphor of the mind is used in an attempt to make exploration easier. The geography is based on the native Canadian landscape – something personal and comforting.
- A person’s reality may also be intertwined throughout an imaginative journey. These can give the journey a specific importance or purpose or allow the voyager to concentrate on a particular issue. The journey is not something unrelated or detached, it is an interconnected experience.
Tone /Atmosphere
Examples
- "welded together"
- "trees grow spindly…roots in swamps"
- "surrounded by a tangle of branches"
- "a net of air"
- "alternate light and dark"
- "there are no destinations apart from this"
- "sodden as a fallen log"
- "have I been walking in circles again?"
- "but mostly the danger"
- "many have been here, but only some have returned safely"
- "movements of the sun…are erratic"
- "compass is useless"
- "words here are…pointless"
- "vacant wilderness"
- "easier for me to lose my way forever here"
- Communicate the danger of the journey and the state of persona’s mind. It is a dark, contradictory landscape (freedom of creativity vs. domestic home). Appearances are often deceiving. The atmosphere is uncertain, reflective and surreal, however the author does not seem fazed by this. Experiences are shared in a matter-of-fact tone.
- Teaches us that journeys are not always safe and that they can be unpredictable and unpleasant.
Uneven/unbalanced stanza length and structure – typical of free verse.
- Long sentences insinuate train of thought-like writing.
- Unstructured sentences – "the lack of reliable charts; more important, the distraction of small details"
- to highlight/complement the confusion and disorientation of the author/persona.
- Sentences are ‘strung’ together without much thought for sense or structure. Follows a train of thought rather than a story. Speaks of what she sees.
- Journeys can be erratic, unpredictable and unreliable. They often have a lack of or no sense of direction.
- Journeys are normally solitary pursuits, gives a sense of ownership to the text.
- Stark lack of.
- Disorientates the reader and emphasises the lack of continuity and expectance.
- There is no regularity and pattern, in both structure and journey. Journeys are disorienting, irregular and have no set structure. You cannot predict an ending and are given no set rhythm to move to.
"that a cliff is not known as rough except by hand": Appearances can be deceiving. An encounter cannot truly be experienced without physical connection or action and without true familiarity. This could perhaps be referring to her writing (eg. mention of hand) as an experience that she would not genuinely known if she had not become a practical writer.
"I move surrounded by a tangle of branches, a net of air and alternate light and dark": The persona feels restricted by her difficult terrain/surroundings (housewife, domesticity). They are surroundings that can have conflicting effects, either light or dark’. The kinaesthetic imagery of a ‘net of air’ suggests a difficulty in breathing, perhaps a difficulty in creative expression.
"your shoe among the brambles under the chair where it shouldn’t be; lucent white mushrooms and a paring knife on the kitchen table": This is used as a connection back to reality. The persona seems to be a domestic, her attention focusing on cooking and a shoe that ‘shouldn’t be’ under the chair. The reference to ‘your’ suggests she is directing her dialogue toward someone, a husband, child, relative, partner. These connections are also indicative of the meaning of the journey. They are perhaps used to focus her experience on feelings of domesticity, a reaction against it, comparative to it etc.
"a sentence crossing my path, sodden as a fallen log I’m sure I passed yesterday": This phrase can be seen as having either or both of two meanings. It may be seen as an expression of the monotony of domestic life (ie. a phrase that is repeated constantly at home → also direct towards ‘have I been walking in circles again’) or as an manifestation of her creative work. She feels her work is repeating itself and that it has become ‘sodden as a fallen log.’ These, including the shoe and mushrooms, are perhaps distractions from her self-discovery.
"have I been walking in circles again?": This line implies a sense of confusion, meaninglessness and repetitiveness. Her life has become monotonous and does not know whether she is reiterating words or actions passed. It may also mean she has explored this physical terrain before – she has visited this part of her mind, or her mind in general, before.
"A compass is useless; also trying to take directions from the movements of the sun, which are erratic; and words here are as pointless as calling in a vacant wilderness": These words are used as representations or symbols of direction. The uselessness of the compass implies that direction and help in dealing with her life seems to be nonexistent. The movements of the sun are realistically used to calculate time and bearing. It recalls a naturalistic tone, returning us once more to the wilderness of her mind. May also indicate a lack of time frame – she feels that this journey is endless, without chronological order. Calling does not seem to help her either. Vocalisation of distress appears ‘pointless’ as no one else is present. These lines imply a sense of isolation and remoteness. The persona feels alone, physically and linguistically. She feels her words are meaningless and that she cannot truly express herself through language (both in her writing and vocally). The phrase also invokes a sense of helplessness. The persona believes that words will not help her explore personal feelings, emotions and thoughts. She must physically navigate her mind alone.
"Whatever I do I must keep my head. I know it is easier for me to lose my way forever here, than in other landscapes": This recognition of danger is vital. The character ultimately warns the responder not to get lost within the landscape of your own mind. You, like the many historical geographical explorers, may get lost within the wilderness of a country, and never return. It is ironic she mentions she ‘must keep [her] head’ as it is, indeed, her head that she is exploring. The lines create a feeling of desperation and hopelessness, as if the loss of reality has already begun for her. The author suggests it is ‘easier for [her] to lose [her] way…here than in other landscapes’ as this land is completely uncharted. This land, unlike physical and geographical landscapes, will change. It is limitless, unpredictable and never ending.
"the hills...open as I move to let me through": The barriers of her mind are being lowered to let her explore → personification.
[I know it's long, but I hope it helps.]
Last edited:
No Problems
New Member
:O and you're younger than me!
69danny~Babe69
New Member
Thanks
omg thank you so much, this is gunna be a big help, my teache rhas told us that this poem is to be our focus in the BOS booklet, thank you so much
you rock......
omg thank you so much, this is gunna be a big help, my teache rhas told us that this poem is to be our focus in the BOS booklet, thank you so much
you rock......
LEGENDofKOSTIN
New Member
SAM
you are the greatest person alive, ever
take a bow, pat yourself on the back.
I LOOOOOVVVVEEEE YOU
you are the greatest person alive, ever
take a bow, pat yourself on the back.
I LOOOOOVVVVEEEE YOU